Disposable electrospun electrodes based on conducting nanofibers

A new approach for the fabrication of disposable electrochemical surfaces is presented. Conducting fibers have been produced by a two-step process. Firstly, a fine web mat composed of nylon-6 and ferric chloride fibers (with diameters of about 200 nm) were electrospun on a flat collector. Afterwards, the electrospun mat was exposed to pyrrole vapor under controlled dry atmosphere until each nylon thread was fully coated with a conducting polypyrrole layer. The conducting fiber mat was finally integrated within an electrochemical cell and used as a disposable sensor device. The suitability of the sensor was tested using phosphate and carbonate organic anions. The large scale fabrication of conducting tissue, in the form of a fine web of spun nanofibers, is relatively fast and inexpensive, and it paves the way to the build up of new disposable electrodes.